Mehmet Karli (Galatasaray University Law School, Istanbul; Centre for International Studies, Oxford)

Deniz Ulke Aribogan (Istanbul University; St Antony's College)

Chair:

Othon Anastasakis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Convenor:

Othon Anastasakis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Series:

SEESOX

AbstractOn July 15th 2016, Turkey had experienced a coup d’etat attempt, which left 240 people dead, 1573 people injured. Drastic events that occurred during and after the high time of the coup not only caused a huge trauma among the people, but also shook an already tumultuous political landscape in Turkey. This SEESOX seminar aspires to draw a picture of the country before and after the botched coup.​ Ms. Ezgi Başaran will focus on the night of the coup and try to answer questions surrounding the infamous event, while explaining why Turkey’s relations with the EU and US entered a more poisonous era post-coup.​ Dr. Mehmet Karlı will analyze the evidence linking Gulen Movement to the coup as well as illustrating how Turkey’s tarnished rule of law paved the way to a military intervention. Dr. Yaprak Gürsoy will address three interrelated questions: 1) Why did the July 15 coup take place? 2) Why did it ultimately fail? and 3) What would have happened if the coup had succeeded? Rather than exclusively focusing on the actual details of the coup, Dr. Gürsoy will base her answers on a theoretical perspective drawing from her forthcoming book on military interventions and regime change. Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan will point out the similarities and differences of 15 July coup attempt with Turkey’s previous military takeovers.